On February 18, 1979, the 114th Regiment of the 38th Division of the 13th Army penetrated deep into the narrow valley of the Mong Son region of Vietnam. On either side are lush mountains that shade the sky, and even a close look with a telescope will not reveal the true situation hidden in the dense grassy forest.
As our vanguard was speeding through the valley pass, suddenly heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft machine guns rang out on both sides of the valley.
The dense bullets were like surging locusts, forming a network of flat-firing firepower, strictly blocking the necessary places for our army's advance. In particular, the anti-aircraft machine gun is known as one of the most conventional** on the battlefield, with a maximum range of up to 3,000 meters, which can instantly shatter the head and splash its brains and flesh.
Similarly, parts such as the waist will be broken in an instant. The vanguard of our army suffered a sudden attack, and many people were unfortunately shot and died. The entire large force was also suppressed by the powerful fire of the Vietnamese army, and was unable to move in a narrow valley, and the situation was extremely critical.
During the observation, it was found that the Vietnamese army had set up two hidden firing points on the hills on both sides. These two points of fire were condescending, coordinated with each other, and fired cross-fire, putting our troops in the valley in an extremely passive position.
The commander of the 1st Battalion of the Vanguard Battalion immediately ordered the machine gun company and artillery company to occupy the position nearby, suppress the Vietnamese fire, and direct the troops to quickly pass through the blockade line. Although our machine guns and artillery soon formed a powerful fire network, even our heavy machine guns had a maximum range of only 1,500 meters, which could not pose a substantial threat to the anti-aircraft machine gun positions of the Vietnamese troops in the distance.
At that time, only a limited number of battalion-affiliated artillery were able to confront it. The Vietnamese army, on the other hand, took advantage of its huge geographical advantage and flexible tactics to come out of this hole for a while to shoot a few shuttles, and then to come out from under the boulder and strafe at the other, so that our army's powerful firepower became "fist to flea fighting."
For a while, the enemy and the enemy were at loggerheads. Due to the urgency of the interspersed mission, the regiment commander ordered the 3rd Battalion to quickly form an assault team and launch an attack on the Vietnamese army's firepower point with the cooperation of artillery and heavy machine guns; At the same time, the 1st and 2nd Battalions and regimental and subordinate units were ordered to quickly pass through the blockade line under the fire of the Vietnamese army.
During the two-day battle, the commander of the 3rd Battalion had become a "mud man", but he still personally led the assault team to attack the fire point on the hillside of the Vietnamese army with the help of dense woods.
Another assault team, led by the company commander, outflanked the strongholds on the other side of the hill to the left and right. In order to stop our troops, the Vietnamese army had to disperse their firepower. The concentration of anti-aircraft machine-gun fire in the distance prevented large units of our troops from passing through the mountain passes, and the machine guns and submachine guns on the mountainside engaged in a fierce battle with our troops.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the valley, the light of shells and grenades** almost lit up the sky, and billowing smoke filled the valley, blurring the vision of both sides of the enemy.
According to the instructions of the regiment and battalion, the 1st Battalion and 2nd Company quickly ran to the foot of the mountain pass blockaded by the Vietnamese army. Under the command of the company commander, the whole company dispersed and leaped forward in squads and groups, and quickly passed through the mountain pass.
When the cunning Vietnamese army had no one to pass through the mountain pass, they stopped their banners and tried to hide themselves as much as possible to avoid exposing their targets; As soon as someone from our army passed, their anti-aircraft machine guns would be fierce, and the mountain pass would be beaten to the ground with grass and trees, and some of our fighters would fall there and never get up again.
At the critical moment when the company headquarters passed through the blockade line, the "five major officers" (messengers, division officers, hygienists, barbers, and clerks) headed by the clerk suddenly formed a circle, surrounding the company commander and instructors in the middle, and their purpose was to protect the safety of the commander with their own bodies and perform the duty of protecting the commander on the battlefield.
Seeing this scene, the company commander and the instructor were very anxious, and they loudly warned the "five major officers" to disperse and rush over, otherwise the target would be too big and it would easily become a live target for the Vietnamese army's concentrated shooting.
However, the "five officers" turned a deaf ear, and the company commander was upright and urgent, waving his 60-gun benchmark to hit them, and shouted loudly, but the "five officers" still did not move at all and insisted on passing the blockade line according to the plan.
The "five officers" formed a wall in the enemy's heavy artillery fire to protect the safety of the company commander and instructor, and the two were forced to rush forward with the "five members", forming a special and bizarre group charge picture.
The Vietnamese anti-aircraft machine gunners were confused by this picture, thinking that the Chinese ** people were covering the "big man" to pass through the blockade line, so they fired fiercely at the mountain pass. However, in fact, on the battlefield, there is often "a slight difference and a thousand miles missing." By the moment the Vietnamese antiaircraft machine guns roared, the company commander, instructors, and the "five major officers" had safely jumped over the Vietnamese army's blockade line.
At this time, the commandos of the 3rd Battalion were quietly approaching the firing point of the Vietnamese army, but the whereabouts of the Vietnamese army were very hidden, and it was difficult for them to determine the exact location of the firing point for a while.
At this time, the Vietnamese machine gunners were engrossed in dealing with the strange formation of the 2nd Company in front, but they did not know that "the praying mantis catches the cicada, and the yellow finch is behind", and exposed himself to the commandos of the 3rd Battalion.
When they found out the location of the Vietnamese anti-aircraft machine gunners, their hearts were filled with joy. They threw grenades in unison, and with the sound of ** and billowing smoke, the Vietnamese army's firepower points suddenly flew flesh and blood, and they became powerless to fight back.
In the end, the follow-up troops of the 114th Regiment finally managed to pass through the mountain pass and successfully broke through the Vietnamese blockade. I would like to express my gratitude to my comrade-in-arms Tian Hongbing for providing reference materials.